Section 375: Penalty for taking wreck at time of casualty

(1)
Where a vessel is wrecked, stranded or in distress at any place on or near the coasts of Nigeria or any tidal water within Nigeria, any cargo or other articles belonging to, or separated from, the vessel which may be washed
onshore or otherwise lost or taken from the vessel, shall be delivered to the Receiver of Wreck.
(2)
If any person, whether the owner or not, secretes or keeps possession of any such cargo or article, or refuses to deliver the same to the Receiver of Wreck or to any person authorised by the Receiver of Wreck to demand the
same, he commits an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine not exceeding fifty thousand Naira or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or both.
(3)
The Receiver of Wreck or any authorised person may take any such cargo or article by force from the person so refusing to deliver the same.